According to a new court filing, prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the horrific University of Idaho murders.
On November 13, 2022, Kohberger was accused of stabbing four college students in an off-campus residence to death.
Death Penalty Sought for Bryan Kohberger
Kaylee Goncalves, her closest friend and roommate of a lifetime, Madison Mogen, a third roommate, Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's fiancé, Ethan Chapin, were the victims. Two additional companions survived the startling crime that captivated the nation.
Kohberger, age 28, was apprehended on December 30, 2022, following a six-week manhunt. At the time of the homicides, Kohberger was a Ph.D. student at the adjacent Washington State University.
Monday evening, the family of Kaylee Goncalves released a statement thanking prosecutors for pursuing the death penalty, ABC News reported.
Last month, Kohberger chose to remain silent during his arraignment. By not responding, the judge entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the defendant. Prosecutors had sixty days following the May arraignment to file a notice if they intended to pursue the death penalty. The trial of Kohberger is scheduled for October 2.
The Latah County Prosecutor's Office notified the court that they would pursue the death penalty because the murders were "particularly abominable, atrocious, or callous, manifesting exceptional depravity."
The death penalty was deemed appropriate by prosecutors due to the number of victims, the defendant's "utter disregard for human life," his "reckless indifference to human life," and his status as a menace to society.
In addition, prosecutors were not given any mitigating circumstances that could be used to argue that Kohberger should not be executed. Prosecutors met with the families of the victims to discuss the case, with Kernodle's mother, Cara Northington, favoring a life sentence for Kohberger if he is convicted.
On the other hand, her father, Jeff, reportedly supports the death penalty for the alleged murderer. The Goncalves and Mogens also favor the death penalty, while the Chapins' position has not been made public.
Lawyer Claims Bryan Kohberger Has No Link to Idaho Student Murders
On Thursday, Kohberger's attorneys alleged that DNA evidence from two other males was discovered at the crime scene. The attorneys stated that their client had "no connection" to the mortally stabbed students in their off-campus Moscow residence.
According to the filing, on December 17, 2022, lab analysts discovered the DNA of two additional males in the residence where the deceased were discovered. The defense team stated that a second man's DNA was discovered inside the Moscow home, and a third man's DNA was allegedly discovered on a glove outside the home.
The filing, an Objection to State's Motion for Protective Order, argued the defense team should have access to all the data and investigative genetic genealogy that led prosecutors to claim Kohberger's buccal swab-collected DNA was a statistically significant match to DNA found on a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
Previously, prosecutors argued that Kohberger had no access to the FBI data discovered by the method. The defense team stated in their filing, "Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mr. Kohberger does not recognize that his defense does not require this information."
The state appears solely concerned with preventing Kohberger from learning how the investigative genetic genealogy profile was created and how many other individuals the FBI chose to disregard during its investigation.
Per Daily Mail, detectives discovered a Ka-Bar knife scabbard with Mogen and Goncalves' bodies on the bed. According to court documents filed on June 16, the scabbard was partially concealed by Mogen's body and the bed comforter.
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